 Section 5 of the Mayor de Gea. Volume 1. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Mayor de Gea. Volume 1 by G. F. Young. Chapter 3. Giovanni de Bicci. Part 3. Giovanni de Bicci 1418 to 1428. Life in Florence in Giovanni's day was a very different thing from that which it became two generations later. Anything in the direction of luxury was condemned by plain living Florence as a sign of degeneracy, and when Giovanni, in order to give assistance to struggling artists, had the whole of the walls of his house decorated with frescoes, a form of decoration hitherto confined to churches, we may be sure that this action was looked upon by many as a questionable innovation, but tokening a reprehensible tendency to voluptuousness. For very austere indeed was the style of living then customary. The palaces of even the most wealthy were furnished with the plainers, which scorned all idea of either beauty or comfort. Heavy tables and straight-backed wooden chairs covered with leather, bare stone floors, desperately cold in winter, white-washed walls only covered with tapestry on state occasions, a huge credenza containing vases, glass, majolica and silver for use at banquets, wide hard, comfortless beds and great chests containing linen and clothes, such were the surroundings and such the only furniture considered necessary, even in the palaces of the noblest families. As to dress there was the same austerity, and here Florence enacted very strict laws to check undue extravagance. These laws laid down with the most minute exactness what a lady's dress might be like and what it might not be like, and the same as regards the men. No lady might have her dress made of other material, nor of greater length or breadth than was laid down, nor wear any of numerous forbidden ornaments. While for the men was prescribed, for all above the class of artisans, the plain garment buttoned straight down the front and looking like a priest's cassock, which is to be seen in all the earlier portraits in this book. We do not hear much about the ladies of this period, it was not until a generation or two later that they began to come forth from the seclusion considered correct in Giovanni's time, but they evidently fought vigorously against these laws about dress. They evaded them in numberless ingenious ways and waged an untiring warfare with the authorities on the subject. In this contest, which went on perpetually between the ladies and the officials charged with seeing that these sumptuary laws were obeyed, for which thorny task foreigners, i.e. non-florentines, were purposely appointed. The officers concerned had evidently no pleasant time. One of them reports as follows, When obeying the orders ye gave me, I went out to seek for the forbidden ornaments of your women, they met me with arguments such as are not to be found in any book of laws. There cometh a woman with the peak of her hood, fringed out and twined around her head. My notary saith, tell me your name for you have a peak with fringes. Then the good woman taketh this peak, which is fastened round her hood with a pin, and holding it in her hand, she declareeth that it is a wreath. Then going further he findeth one wearing many buttons in front of her dress, and he saith unto her, ye are not allowed to wear these buttons. But she answers, these are not buttons but studs, and if ye do not believe me, look, they have no loops, and moreover there are no buttonholes. Then my notary goeth to another who is wearing ermine, and saith, now what can she say to this, ye are wearing ermine, and he prepares to write down her name. But the woman answers, do not write me down, for this is not ermine, it is the fur of a suckling. Saith the notary, what is this suckling? And the woman replies, it is an animal. No wonder that the authorities remark, we do but knock our heads against a wall, that in the next generation these sumptuary laws were gradually allowed to become a dead letter, the ladies having gained the victory. In 1418 we here at Giovanni giving a large sum of money to assist one whose deservedly incurred misfortunes, we are told, roused his pity. In conjunction with the chief of the party of the nobles, Niccolò da Uzzano, he obtained after strong efforts the release of the deposed and imprisoned Pope John XXIII, on condition that a ransom of 38,000 ducats should be paid, and the whole of this sum Giovanni himself gave. Pope John on being released came, broken down and destitute to Florence and was given an asylum there by Giovanni, when the deposed Pope died in the following year, erected to his memory the beautiful monument which is to be seen in the baptistery. In 1419 we find Giovanni at his own cost erecting and endowing an important charitable institution which remains to the present day, the Foundling Hospital of Florence, the Hospedale dell'Ienniocenti, and in carrying out this charitable work, he also managed to help forward the cause of art. Brunelleschi had by this time returned to Florence, having in the intervening years carried out his determination to learn another branch of art, in which Iberti should not be able to rival him, but he had not yet obtained any opportunity of displaying his powers. Giovanni gave him this opportunity by entrusting the construction of his new hospital to him. Though afterwards eclipsed by his other achievements, the Foundling Hospital remains notable as being the great architect's first prominent work. In 1421 Giovanni received the highest mark of esteem which his country could confer. In spite of the opposition of the nobles, who urged that it was unsafe to allow one so wealthy and so popular to hold that office, he was, without any seeking for it on his part, elected gonfaloniere. In 1422 Florence entered on a four years war with Milan, whose Duke, Filippo Maria Visconti, the cowardly and treacherous son of Gian Galliazzo, was threatening to absorb all northern Italy. Giovanni de Bici was against this war, feeling that Florence was not strong enough for it and could not afford the cost. And in it Florence suffered no less than six serious defeats within a space of about two years. Nevertheless she gained in the end the object for which he fought. After four years of war, Venice joined her against Milan, with the eventual result that the designs of the Duke of Milan were frustrated, and he was forced to conclude apiece, the terms of which were honourable to Florence. Thus twice during 25 years had Florence stood in the breach and prevented two successive dukes of Milan from subduing all Italy. These two wars are said to have cost Florence a sum equal in our present money to six million pounds sterling. In 1426 Giovanni succeeded in affecting, in spite of every kind of opposition from the nobles, the chief political measure of his life. This was his celebrated catastro, the new form of taxation devised by him. The main tax on the people had hitherto been an irregular poll tax which bore very unfairly upon them and gave unlimited opportunities to the nobles to exercise oppression. It was consequently hated by the people. Giovanni worked out a scheme to substitute for this, a fixed tax on property which would be regular in its incidents and prevent the nobles from evading their due share of the general taxation and by his weight and influence in the signoria succeeded in getting this measure passed and this notwithstanding that it increased very largely the amount he would himself have to pay. The nobles were of course furious and accused him of all sorts of ulterior motives but Giovanni having no such motives went on his way undisturbed and for this immense boon which he had procured for them the people looked on him as their saviour and benefactor and were ready to do anything for one who had fought thus strenuously on their behalf. In 1427 Giovanni performed his last act as a champion of the cause of the poorer classes a number of the nobles, headed by Rinaldo Odelia-Albizi and Niccolò d'Auzarno, held a secret meeting to devise means for reducing the power of the people in the government. The plan they eventually settled upon was to put forward a suggestion to the signoria to reduce the number of the inferior guilds and also to remove the prohibition against members of the nobili being eligible for election to the signoria using the argument that the time had passed when such a prohibition was necessary. Having elaborated the details of their plan the nobili on a suitable occasion submitted their suggestion to the signoria for discussion. The proposal in the manner in which it was put forward was a specious one while its real object was kept carefully veiled. But Giovanni, ever on the watch to defend the cause of the people fathomed its real intention. He exerted the whole weight of his influence to oppose the measure and entirely through his vigorous opposition it was defeated. By this, the last act of his public life he increased still more his popularity with the people. The wrath of the nobles was proportionate and all the more so since they could not openly show it without disclosing to all what their object had been. Giovanni on this occasion showed the sagacity to detect the courage to oppose and the sound judgment to foil without an open conflict and a dangerous attempt to revolutionise the government. Contemporary historical events, 1418 to 1428. The chief events outside Italy during these years were the following. In 1420 Henry V of England having by this time conquered all France north of the Loire the Treaty of Toie was executed. By this treaty the Crown of France was secured to him to the exclusion of the Dauphin Charles whenever the Mad King Charles VI should die and meanwhile Henry was made regent of France and at last married to the French king's daughter Catherine. In 1422 Charles VI and Henry V both died and the latter was succeeded by his six months old son Henry VI the Earl of Bedford being appointed regent of France on his behalf during his minority. In 1425 the Emperor Manuel Palaiologus died and his son John Palaiologus, John VII succeeded him as Emperor of the Eastern Empire and this time reduced a little more than its capital city Constantinople. In 1428 the regent Bedford having gained several victories over the Dauphin Charles crossed the Loire and began his memorable siege of Orléans the key to the south of France. Art 1418 to 1428 The years 1418 to 1428 were years of still further developments in that outburst of new life in the world of art taking place in Florence. In the year 1418 the Cathedral begun by Arnolfo Dicambio 120 years before and which when finished would be the largest then existing was approaching completion but it still wanted its dome and all concerned were in despair as to how a dome was ever to be thrown over so vast a space. At length Brunelleschi who was then building the Foundling Hospital came forward and offered to do it but would not say how. There was great opposition to giving the task to him and the reason is important as showing the conditions from which art had gradually to emancipate itself. Every citizen of Florence who aspired either to have any political rights or to take any part in the important public works from time to time being executed had to belong to one or other of the 21 guilds. The seven major guilds were one Wool Merchants two Dyers of Foreign Cloth three Silk Merchants five bankers, six judges and lawyers and seven doctors and apothecaries. There was no special guild for the workers in art the painters had to belong to the guild of apothecaries the architects and sculptors either to the guild of the Wool Merchants or to that of the Silk Merchants. The 14 minor guilds were simply those of the various trades and had less privileges. Brunelleschi won. Up to the time when Brunelleschi made the above refusal to announce his plans every great public work such as this was done collectively under the auspices of some particular guild and anything like independent working in such matters was unprecedented and the whole work of erecting the cathedral was carried out by a board of works under the orders of the guild of the Wool Merchants. Brunelleschi being of an independent character detested this system which hampered all artists much but especially architects. Since his disappointment over the bronze doors he had spent nearly 20 years in studying architecture more especially the ancient buildings at Rome and was now confident that he knew a way of building the great dome and without using any scaffolding this point being the chief difficulty but if he succeeded in building it he desired that it should be his and not that of the board of works and did not want to tell his secret only to have it appropriated by a corporate body who might also modify his designs which is just what the board wished to be able to do such novel independence was in their opinion most objectionable and required putting down and so there was a tremendous contest however eventually Brunelleschi prevailed simply because all knew by this time that he was the only man who could construct the dome the work was given to him and the construction began in 1420 and though even after this there were constant battles still by degrees the great dome slowly rose on his designs and under his superintendents it was built without any scaffolding and on a principle Brunelleschi had learned from studying the roof of the pantheon at Rome he tells us that managing while at Rome to get on the roof of the pantheon and to take off some of the outer stones so as to inspect the ribbing of the vault and discovering the way the blocks of stone were dovetailed into one another so as to be almost self-supporting this gave him his ideas for the dome of Florence while it also led him to conceive how to utilize crossbeams to gird the ribs together and how a second dome within the first strength and the whole the dome is built on this principle one dome within the other and the two bound together so as to support each other with a space between sufficient for a staircase and each dome resting on a drum it was the first of the kind ever constructed was considered the wonder of the age and is the largest double cupola in Europe domes had of course been a feature of Byzantine architecture but the great change made by the Renaissance was that caused by lifting the dome on a drum the dome thus becoming the chief feature of the building it is interesting to notice how as it had been with learning and as it had been with sculpture so here again with architecture we have a resurrection of the long past and Brunelleschi receives his inspiration from the pantheon built by the Emperor Hadrian 1300 years before in 1425 Giovanni de Bici gave a commission to Brunelleschi which resulted in one of the three chief works for which the latter has obtained fame the Church of San Lorenzo now so famous on account of its tombs of the Medici family this church one of the most ancient in Italy having been consecrated by Saint Ambrose himself in AD 393 was in 1423 falling into ruins Giovanni now undertook to rebuild it devoting there to a large amount of his fortune and after his time it was when completed endowed by his descendants and became the family church of the Medici on this church Brunelleschi lavished all his talent and it is one of his finest creations Simmons speaking of it says quote not a form or detail in the whole church is at variance with classic precedent and yet the general effect resembles nothing that we possess of antique work it is a masterpiece of intelligent renaissance adaptation unquote following as he did the sobriety and correctness of the classic style the keynote of which is harmony Brunelleschi's buildings are remarkable for this latter characteristic they never give one that jar which like a discordant note in music is produced by a falsity in architecture and whose effect we feel even though perhaps unable to point out where in it lies his churches of San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito are both of them examples of this characteristic of harmony and to it is undoubtedly due their indescribably peaceful effect Geberti 2 in 1424 the first pair of bronze doors on which Geberti had so long been at work were at last finished they had taken him 22 years the enthusiasm when they were set up was tremendous nothing like this in art had been seen before all Florence crowded to see them and the Signoria who never quitted the palazzo della Signoria in a body except on the greatest occasions came in state to applaud the work and do honor to the artist when we think of all that this work had called forth in every branch of art during the long years he had been employed on it of the genius which had created this wonderful new departure and of the determined perseverance by which alone the work was brought to such perfection we are led to feel that Geberti deserved any honor which his countrymen and their governing body could confer upon him Geberti by this time a man of 45 at once set to work on his second pair of doors which were destined to take him still longer and to surpass even the first pair in excellence Masoccio in 1423 seven years after Donatello had produced his statue of St George three years after Brunelleschi had begun to construct his dome and one year before Geberti finished his first pair of bronze doors painting showed that same new burst of life which had already been shown by architecture and sculpture for in that year Masoccio afterwards so famous and destined to advance the art of painting by so immense a step that he became the leader of all painters after him began his frescoes in the brand Cacci Chapel of the Church of the Carmelites the Carmine the influence of Geberti's work of the bronze doors is in the case of Masoccio directly traceable born in the year of the competition of 1401 he worked as a boy under Geberti on the panels of these doors and there learned the knowledge of form effect of light and shade and other secrets which he afterwards elaborated in his paintings in these by a proper use of light and shade he gave roundness to the limbs was the first to give to figures natural attitudes and a life like appearance and to drapery natural folds improved the drawing of heads and hands and as Vasadi says improved everything but this was not recognized until after his short life had ended he was crushed with poverty burdened with the maintenance of younger brothers always ready to do a good turn to others but careless about his own affairs and entirely absorbed in his painting was almost unknown dying at the age of 27 only four years after he began painting these frescoes his life was so short and he was so hampered by debt that he has left very few works except for two small unimportant pictures at Berlin and one in the Academia at Florence no picture of massachios is in any of the galleries of Europe and all his fame rests on the frescoed walls of one small chapel in Florence nevertheless with him painting entered on a new epoch and the Brancacci Chapel has become sacred ground to all painters since there almost all the great masters after him including Vasari tells us Perugino, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Fraa Bartolomeo and many of Lesser Genius have studied and copied the works of one who is the inaugurator of all that we understand by modern painting in this chapel wrought one of the few natures interpreters the few whom Genius gives as lights to shine Massaccio look around and know that where we stand stood often long oft till the day was gone Raphael himself nor he alone so great the ardor there such while it rained the generous rivalry he and how many more once thither drawn anxious to learn of those who came before to steal a spark from their immortal fire who first did break the universal gloom sons of the morning Rogers Italy Giovanni da Vinci and his readiness to befriend struggling artists assisted the poor youth who was then so little known and Massaccio introduced a portrait of him into his fresco picture of the consecration of the Carmine church in 1422 but this fresco was destroyed when the greater part of that church was burnt in 1721 at some time during the year 1427 Massaccio ended his painting for the Carmelite community and went off to Rome none know for what purpose for of such an insignificant person nothing was at that time recorded but presumably in order to obtain work and there in the following year he died in poverty and obscurity unknown to fame until after he was dead when the world awoke to the knowledge of what a genius had been living in that obscure corner of Florence where he had worked Giovanni da Vinci 1428 Giovanni died in 1428 at the age of 68 and at his death left an immense fortune to his two sons Cosimo and Lorenzo he died deservedly esteemed by his countrymen beloved by the humbler classes of the people who had so often found in him a defender and whose welfare he had consistently promoted remembered with gratitude by all who struggling to rise in some branch of art had never failed to receive from him a helping hand and respected even by some amongst the nobili who though always opposed by him had never found him other than an honourable antagonist Machiavelli describing his character says he never sought the honours of government yet enjoyed them all when holding high office he was courteous to all not a man of great eloquence but of an extraordinary prudence Giovanni had assisted at the birth of the movement in which Ghiberti, Brunaleschi, Donatello and Massaccio were the leaders he had helped its onward cause he died as its morning ended with the death of Massaccio and began to pass into full noon thus the chief interest connected with his life will always be that memorable outburst in art which took place between the years 1400 and 1428 earning with such ardour among the Florentines that it threw even politics into the background and formed the prominent feature in the life of Florence during his time he lies buried with Piccata his wife in the old sacristy in the church of San Lorenzo the only portion of the rebuilt church which was finished at the time of his death the affine tomb richly ornamented with figures of bucati and garlands of flowers stands in the centre of the sacristy with a large marble table over it the tomb is interesting from the fact that isolated tombs like this though common in other countries were very rare in Italy such was the founder of this family which was destined to have so momentous a history he laid the foundations of the family solidly not so much by the popularity which he won through his steadfast championship of the cause of the humbler classes by the principles of magnanimity, generosity, courtesy and care for the people which he taught his sons and cause to become an unwritten law in his family for three generations after him as we look at the kindly and sensible old face in his portrait we feel how well it was for Florence in after years that Giovanni de Bici de Medici possessed the character that he did it will be seen how on his death the party of the nobles took steps to destroy his work as well as to prevent these upstart Medici from rising any higher End of Section 5 Section 6 of the Medici Volume 1 this is a Librivox recording or Librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit Librivox.org recording by Adrian Stevens The Medici Volume 1 by G. F. Young Part 1 Introduction Chapter 4 Cosimo, Partipatrii Part 1 Giovanni de Bici's two sons were Cosimo and Lorenzo Cosimo's branch which includes all the greater Medici eventually in the 7th generation died out when the succession passed to Lorenzo's branch which carried on the family through six more generations attained that crown which the elder branch had striven for and made possible and at last in its turn also died out in 1743 as the best way of avoiding confusion the history follows the elder branch right down to its end Part 1 before returning to take up Part 2 the story of the younger branch from its commencement with Lorenzo downwards this is rendered the easier since the first few generations of the younger branch have scarcely any independent history of their own theirs being almost entirely merged in that of the elder branch so that the period when the younger branch has an independent history is a comparatively short one Chapter 4 Cosimo part of Patriae born 1389 ruled 1434 to 1464 died 1464 when Giovanni de Bici died his eldest son Cosimo was 40 years old up to that time we have only one episode recorded of him vis that when in 1450 the Council of Constance was assembled and Pope John XXIII forced by the Emperor Sigismund very reluctantly proceeded to it Cosimo de Medici then 26 years old who had known him before he became Pope went with him at the risk of his life to help to defend him and had to fly in disguise when Pope John was deposed and imprisoned by the Council Cosimo had shortly before this adventure been married to Contessina di Bardi and his eldest son Piero was born apparently in the Bardi Palace while Cosimo was absent at the above Council the Bardi were in the 14th century the richest banking family in Florence so they themselves have disappeared their oldest palace still stands in the street which was once their property and still bears their name the Via di Bardi always to us reminiscent of Romola but they had fallen on evil days before Cosimo's marriage to the eldest daughter of the house having been gradually ruined owing to the loss of a large sum of money which lent by them to Edward III of England had never been repaid by this marriage the Bardi Palace came into the possession of the Medici family and Cosimo appears during his father's lifetime to have lived there with eight red balls being still to be seen in some of the rooms Cosimo had been educated at the celebrated school attached to the Kemal Dolis Monastery of Santa Maria de Gli Angli in the Via de Gli Althani he knew Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Arabic besides several modern languages and was passionately fond of both learning and art he also possessed all the qualities which distinguished his father and on becoming head of the family soon showed that he would be likely to play a more prominent part in Florentine affairs than his father the family were by this time growing enormously wealthy owning banks in as many as sixteen capital cities in Europe and Cosimo's great wealth courteous demeanor, ability and tact all joined as it was to a generous disposition made him fully as popular with people as his father had been in Cosimo de Medici the party of the nobles, the Grandi then headed by the powerful family of the Albitzi saw a formidable opponent they already detested this wealthy family who were rising from the class of the Populani and gaining such influence and they saw in its new head one who aroused their bitterest jealousy they therefore determined that the Medici had been entirely rooted out of Florence this however was not easy to accomplish Cosimo's popularity being so great moreover the most respected of their number the aged Niccolò de Uzzanno was against any such design Machiavelli tells us that when the other nobles consulted him regarding their proposed action against the Medici he warned them that in a trial of strength the latter would win Cosimo were put to death as they desired Florence would be in danger of having Renaldo de Gli Albitzi as a despot and that if either was to prevail of the two he preferred Cosimo but he added God deliver the city from private ursipation so that for the present the nobles were forced to bide their time in 1430 two years after his father's death Cosimo began to carry out a project which he had had under consideration from the time he succeeded his father that of building a new palace for the family for this he chose a site in the Via Lager the widest street in the city at the corner where it was joined by a short street the Via de Gori which ran down to the church of San Lorenzo then being rebuilt with the family money and which when completed he purposed to endow this palace Cosimo intended should be a model of architectural art and should surpass anything of the kind at that time seen Bruno Leski was now the foremost architect of the age his dome was approaching completion he was also building the church of San Lorenzo and in the same year began his other church of Santo Spirito so Cosimo had at first proposed to employ him in designing his new palace but on seeing Bruno Leski's plan he considered it too grand in character and instead of it accepted a less pretentious one by Michelotzo an architect then coming into notice and who chiefly through this work became recognized as second only to Bruno Leski for the adornment of the courtier of the palace when it should be completed Cosimo gave various commissions to Donatello by this time acknowledged as the leading sculptor these included the bronze statue of David now in the museum of the Baghello the bronze statue of Judith slaying Holofernes now in the logia d'Alanzi and the medallions copied from antique gems still to be seen over the arches of the courtier the first of these works, the David was an epoch making statue in the history of art having probably a greater influence than any other single statue ever executed it was finished within the next three years before Cosimo's exile the other commissions being completed later in 1432 Niccolò de Uzzano for so many years the respected leader of the Nobili though laterally thrown into the shade by Reinaldo de Gli Albitzi died he was one of the best statesmen Florence had ever possessed consistently employing his influence to check the party rivalries of his countrymen his restraining influence being removed the nobles proceeded to carry out their resolve to get rid of these medici who were becoming such formidable champions of the people complete success in this object required they considered the death of Cosimo himself and the banishment of the rest of the family including his brother Lorenzo and their first cousin Averardo in the case of a family of bankers such a banishment particularly if they were dispersed would soon cause their ruin with the Albitzi family at their head the Nobili now took steps to affect these objects and the new palace so much superior to any hitherto built in Florence assisted them in their design now that the walls began to attain sufficient height for the general style of the building to be appreciated and particularly the novel and expensive Rostica style of the lower story having by a skilful manipulation of the elections of the year 1433 obtained a signoria considerably under their influence the Albitzi party accused Cosimo to the government of scheming to exalt himself above the rank of an ordinary citizen the worst charge possible in Florence and pointed among other things to the new palace as being too grand for a simple citizen denoting an ambition dangerous to the republic whereupon Cosimo was suddenly arrested and consigned to a cell in the tower of the Palazzo della Signoria while arrangements were made for his speedy judicial murder but the temper of the populace when they heard what was going on became so formidable that that plan had after a day or two to be abandoned the nobles then attempted to employ poison and commissioned two of their number to affect this Cosimo had from the first expected that this method would be employed and for the first three days of his imprisonment would eat nothing but the second plan also failed as Cosimo's jailer Federico Malavonte refused to be corrupted so the nobles had to be content with his banishment but Cosimo had a narrow escape in due course a sentence of banishment was passed by the Signoria a regular decree of ostracism in the Greek style being drawn up the whole of the Medici were exiled Cosimo and his family to Padua his brother Lorenzo to Venice and his cousin Everardo to Naples and they were escorted under a guard to the frontier the decree declared that the Medici were banished from the city and state of Florence being dangerous to the Republic by reason of their wealth and ambition the sentence of exile and the reasons for it were published in all other states so as to make their disgrace as public as possible and the nobles though they had failed to secure Cosimo's death were satisfied that they had nevertheless achieved the ruin of the Medici thus were the Medici for the first time cast forth in ignominy by Florence as foes to her Republic it was an experience they were to undergo three times in the course of their history on this first occasion it occurred solely to satisfy the desire of the nobles to get rid of the one family that stood in the way of a return to that state of things wherein the power had been in the hands of the nobles an object the latter had never ceased to work for since the reform of the constitution which had placed all power in the hands of the people it is often asserted that the germs of an aim to destroy the Republic and erect a despotic monarchy in its place existed in the Medici from the first but so far at all events as this first banishment is concerned the statement is proved in the most practical manner to be untrue for whereas suspicions of this nature when once aroused have if there be any basis for them a tendency to grow stronger in the absence of the accused and certainly would do so in such a city yet in this case the very reverse occurred and Florence by her action a year afterwards conclusively proved that there were no grounds for the charge by Cosimo's exile the work on the Medici Palace was brought to a standstill and as neither Michalotso nor Donatello desired to remain in a city which had cast him out they also went into exile Michalotso accompanying Cosimo and Donatello proceeding to Rome to study such remains of the classic sculpture as were to be found there though these were at the time extremely few the Pope's not having begun to collect such things and all the treasures now to be seen in the sculpture galleries of the Vatican and the capital then lying buried under the ruins of the devastated city contemporary historical events 1428 to 1433 the chief events during the first five years after Cosimo became head of the family with a great change which at this time came over the long struggle between France and England known as the Hundred Years War and the assembly of the Council of Baal the third of the attempts of the 15th century to reform the church also on a smaller stage Florence's two wars against Lucca and against Milan regarding the first of the above events he noted how in 1428 the English then masters of all northern France advanced southwards and laid siege to Orléans then came Joan of Arc and in three years 1428 to 1431 changed the whole aspect of affairs in France the details of her career ending in her death which was to the lasting disgrace of both English and French are well known the English power in France never recovered the blow dealt it by her victories and from this time forth the English were steadily driven backwards in 1431 the same year that Joan of Arc was burnt at Orléans the Council of Baal was assembled in that year Martin V the Pope who had been elected at the Council of Constance died he had revived the autocratic view of the papacy which had been maintained by the Popes of the 13th century had ruled that archbishops and bishops are merely the delegates of the Pope and had endeavoured to prevent all further assembling of councils to reform the church by ruling the Popes was superior to councils it was a strange outcome of the work of such a council as that of Constance however on his death his rulings were ignored and a third attempt to reform the church was made by the assembly of the Council of Baal it was convened like that of Constance by the Emperor Sigismund the new Pope Eugenius IV having failed in his endeavour to prevent its meeting or to get it dissolved as soon as the preliminary proceedings were concluded was through fear of being deposed at length forced to acknowledge that a Pope is subject to a council and sent four cardinals to represent him at it this council was sitting at Baal from 1431 to 1438 it passed various decrees of reform which the Pope accepted then as it proceeded to deal stronger blows at the papacy the Pope tried to remove it to Italy the council however refused to be removed its subsequent dealings with Pope Eugenius IV will be noted hereafter during the years 1429 to 1433 Florence was dragged into two small wars which brought her much discredit the Albitzi wielding the chief influence first persuaded the government to enter on an unjust aggressive war against Lucca and then prosecuted this war with such an utter want of ability that it was no wonder that it was completely unsuccessful and Florence in this attempt to conquer Lucca reaped nothing but expense failure and loss of prestige this war produced one with Milan which languished on undecisively until 1433 when a temporary peace was patched up these two wars whose only result was an increased expenditure brought much disfavor upon the Albitzi who were entirely responsible for them Cosimo 1434 the first exile of the Medici lasted only for one year the large majority of the population loved this munificent and gracious family and by the time a year had passed saw that they had been made a cat's paw to assist the manoeuvres of the nobles and that while there was no ground for the accusation against the Medici there was every ground for suspecting the motive of the nobles for the Albitzi and their party when once they had got rid of the people's main supporter proceeded by their scarcely concealed plotting against the democratic form of the government which Florence had gained through so many struggles to give the people good reason for such fears so in September 1434 the decree of banishment against the Medici was annulled and messages were sent inviting their return the Albitzi thereupon flew to arms assembled their adherents to the number of about 800 and made an attempt to seize the government before Cosimo should return but the signoria obtained troops from Pistoya and the attempt failed on the 6th of October Cosimo re-entered Florence with a public triumph almost like that given to a conqueror and in the midst of a rejoicing populace Machiavelli says seldom has a citizen returning from a great victory being greeted by such a concourse of people and with such demonstrations of affection as was Cosimo on his return from exile and Cosimo's unassuming demeanour even on the occasion of so honourable a triumph over his enemies increased still further his popularity his subsequent conduct did him equal honour in any other state in Europe at that time of the world's history such a return to power would assuredly have been followed by the putting to death of those whose enmity had caused what had been endured Cosimo and his whole family had been treated with the bitterest animosity by the nobles and with the greatest ingratitude by those members of the signoria whom the nobles had induced to do their will the humiliation of himself and his family had been made known in all the surrounding states they had been put to much fear, inconvenience and loss his own life had been attempted and nothing had been omitted to secure the total ruin of his family yet when thus triumphantly brought back by the will of the people with ample power to retaliate we find Cosimo firmly refusing to allow any of those who had caused these things to be put to death on the other hand that some should suffer banishment on account not of what had been done to the Medici but of the attempt which had been made before their return to overthrow the government was inevitable the Albitzi and their party could not expect to get off unpunished after such an endeavour those writers who are anxious to find cause against the Medici have accused Cosimo of a vindictive policy on this occasion but this is unjust the signoria terribly frightened at the attempt which had nearly succeeded of the Albitzi and their party to see if the government by force of arms passed a sentence of exile against some 80 of them it was not an unnatural result of their conduct but in any case there is no evidence that this and other repressive measures against the Albitzi party some of which measures had been already taken before his arrival were instigated by Cosimo at all a few months after the above triumphant return Cosimo received from his city the most practical demonstration it could give of its entire revulsion of sentiment towards him and regret for the treatment which he and his had received he was elected gonfalonier and held that office for the next two months contemporary historical events 1433 to 1434 meanwhile Pope Eugenius IV had become involved in many troubles mainly through his continued opposition to the Council of Baal the Emperor Sigismund had length being determined to force the Pope to submit to the reforms which the Council was striving to pass but which the Pope's delegates were obstructing proceeded to Italy being invited thither by Filippino Visconti, Duke of Milan who hoped that the Emperor would assist him in the war he was then carrying on against Florence and Venice after staying for some time with the Duke of Milan and after being crowned with the iron crown of Lombardi the Emperor avoiding Florence's territory proceeded by way of Luca and Siena to Rome where he was crowned by Pope Eugenius in St. Peter's in 1433 thence he started on his way back to Baal apparently less ready than he had hitherto been to support the Council against the Pope but immediately afterwards Forte Brattio, commander of the Milanese troops, marched upon Rome while at the same time Francesco Svotza also in behalf of the Duke of Milan seized a large part of the papal territories in Romagna declaring that he was authorized to do so by the Council of Baal the eventual result was that Pope Eugenius was in 1434 forced to fly from Rome in disguise and in danger of his life the people of Rome joining with his other foes in expelling him he took refuge at Florence arriving there just at the time of Cosimo's recall from exile and at Florence this Pope resided for the next eight years while Rome remained in possession of his enemies End of Section 6 Section 7 of the Medici Volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Adrian Stevens The Medici Volume 1 by G. F. Young Chapter 4 Cosimo Partipatrii Part 2 Cosimo 1434 to 1439 Cosimo at the time of his recall from banishment in 1434 was 45 years of age and thenceforth became the acknowledged leading citizen of the Florentine Republic but knowing well the fickle nature of popular favour and the peculiar temperament of his countrymen their habit of constant change, their tendency to fall a prey to one faction after another and above all their jealousy of any individual who seemed inclined to exalt himself he saw that an immense task lay before him if he was to retain that position it has generally been assumed that Cosimo was activated solely by personal ambition but he had other motives than this but from all question of personal or family ambition he desired to retain that position for two reasons eminently honourable to him the poorer classes were ground down under a crushing burden of taxation due to the heavy cost to each individual citizen of wars so constantly undertaken by a state whose population was comparatively small this evil he desired to remedy by so guiding foreign affairs as to make such wars less frequent again he saw that the same cause was severely hampering Florence's commerce while as a banker on a wide scale he felt that if he could create peace he would be able considerably to extend Florentine markets and increase the commercial wealth of the Florentines feeling that he possessed in himself the ability to do these things it was in every way natural that he should wish to show that he could do them ambition of this kind is not a fault but a virtue but to do all this he must be Florence's leading citizen no matter who might from time to time be gone fallow near and in order to retain permanently this position one which could never be more than tacitly granted two things would be necessary first to make all foreign countries recognise that he and he alone was the motive power in the Florentine state and second to convince his own countrymen that no one else could so satisfactorily manage their affairs and in particular their foreign affairs so that they should be glad to leave all such matters in his hands and both these things must be done in such a way as never to arouse in the Florentines that peculiar jealousy of any kind of authority which they were so apt to develop such was the task before Cosimo one at which any man might have quailed in view of the temperament of the Florentine people of his time as well as the conditions of perpetual intrigue in the midst of which it must be carried out yet as will be seen in the sequel he accomplished with complete success this difficult task but it was not only in the political sphere that Cosimo won renown many and varied were the matters which he took in hand the advancement of learning the encouragement of art and the assistance of charitable institutions before all else he was a deep scholar one of those who loved learning for its own sake he maintained a regular staff of agents always employed in searching in the East for rare and important manuscripts which became the nucleus of the great library which he founded he instituted the celebrated Platonic Academy in the study of the rediscovered Plato of whose writings he was an enthusiastic admirer no scholar applied to him in vain and the ways in which he promoted the cause of learning were numberless Gibbon says of him Cosimo was the father of a line of princes whose name and age are almost synonymous with the restoration of learning his credit was ennobled into fame his riches were dedicated to the service of mankind he corresponded at once with Cairo and London and a cargo of Indian spices and Greek books were often imported in the same vessel to art he gave similar assistance he was a liberal patron to the painters Fra Angelico and Lippi to the sculptors Gibberty and Donatello and to the architects Brunaleschi and Michalotso he collected objects of art of every kind and he made his collections open to all artists no less lavish were his charities he gave large sums for the rebuilding of many churches and monasteries including the Bardia of Fia Sol the monastery of San Marco and the church of San Lorenzo built a hospital at Jerusalem for sick and infirm pilgrims and bore a large part in every charitable work undertaken in Florence such was the man who in 1434 became the leading citizen of the Florentine Republic and set forth on the political task which has been mentioned in 1435 Francesco Sforza the celebrated condottiere commander visited Florence during this visit he developed a great liking for Cosimo and thus began that friendship between them which in after years had important political results in 1436 Brunaleschi completed his dome and the cathedral begun 138 years before by Arnolfo Ducambio was at last finished this completion of the great work upon which four generations had laboured was a notable event and a ceremony worthy of the occasion was arranged Pope Eugenius IV was at this time residing at the monastery of Santa Maria Novella and the cathedral was solemnly consecrated by him on the feast of the Annunciation 25th March 1436 a raised passage, richly carpeted and decorated with tapestry damask, silk and flowers was constructed from the door of the Santa Maria Novella and passing through the baptistery to the western door of the cathedral along this an imposing procession consisting of the Pope, 37 bishops seven cardinals, the signoria and the envoys of foreign powers passed from Santa Maria Novella to the cathedral the consecration ceremony occupied five hours after which the procession was reformed and returned in the same way a tablet on the wall of the cathedral commemorates this event Brunelleschi, more fortunate than Giotto lived to see the completion of his great work and take part in the above ceremony the completion of the dome and the consecration of the cathedral served to mark the beginning of Cosimo's rule in Florence in 1437 Cosimo set about rebuilding at his own expense the afterwards far famed monastery of San Marco in Florence this monastery of the Dominican order had at this time in its community two men who will ever live enshrined in the memory of men as representing all that was best in the spirit of that age and as counterbalancing much that was evil Giovanni of Fia Sol called Fra Angelico and Antonio Pierozzi called Antonino afterwards Archbishop of Florence situated near the new palace which he was building it's prior a man so justly beloved this monastery seems to have been looked upon by Cosimo as a well-beloved retreat to which he could retire for rest and congenial companionship when harassed by the cares of state and the vexations of political life and with his usual liberality in all that he undertook he spent money upon it with the generosity which the modesty of the friars had to restrain the rebuilding of it cost him 36,000 ducats in addition to which sum he gave it a large endowment he had a special cell set apart for his own use and thither often resorted for converse with the prior and others of the community he gave as a nucleus for the monastery library over 400 valuable manuscript books and it was at his expense that the walls of the monastery were decorated with those frescoes by Fra Angelico which all the world now visits San Marco to see the effect of having at the head of the state a man like Cosimo showed itself at once in the impetus given to all branches of art as a result we find art taking great strides during those first five years of Cosimo's supremacy in Florentine affairs and artists at work all over the city whose names have since become famous throughout the world Ghiberti was employed on his second pair of bronze doors Brunelleschi was engaged on his two churches of San Lorenzo and Santo Spirito beside several palaces Michelotzo was at work on the Medici Palace and the monastery of San Marco Donatello having returned from Rome was busy in San Lorenzo and on his various works for Cosimo's new palace the dead Misaccio's name was earning great fame for by this time men had recognized his genius and all painters were eagerly studying his works in the Brancacci Chapel Lucca della Robbia was completing his marble screen of the Cantoria Fra Angelico was beginning his fresco's in San Marco Lippi was painting pictures for Cosimo in which he was to show the world the lessons which Misaccio had taught Andrea del Cassagno, Domenico Veneziano Paolo Occello and many other artists were at work in Florence most of them brought Zither directly by Cosimo to execute Ferris works for him while he was besieged with letters by others at a distance, importuning him for commissions Contemporary historical events 1434 to 1439 From 1434 to 1436 Florence was again at war with Milan Filippo Visconti, Duke of Milan being stirred up to attack Florence's territory by the banished Rinaldo Degli al-Bizzi and his party who urged the Duke to make war on Florence promising to aid him with the contingent of Furro Sitti and by fermenting insurrection within the city At length, however, in February 1437 Florence gained a victory over the forces of Milan at the Battle of Barca which for a time put a stop to Milan's efforts whereupon Florence again attacked Lucca but without any success Milan, however, renewed the war in 1438 and it dragged on with varying success for several years without definite result In the year 1437 the Emperor Sigismund died and immediately upon this Eugenius IV came to an open breach with the Council of Baal and summoned a fresh council to meet in Italy the place chosen being Ferrara Its main object was to consider proposals made at this time by the Eastern Emperor The Emperor John Paläologus following the example of his father and grandfather proposed making a personal visit to the west to solicit help against the Turks with Constantinople which must otherwise fall The Pope invited him together with the Patriarch and bishops of the Eastern Church to a conference holding out hopes of such aid if the breach between the churches of the East and the West could be healed Upon this action on the Pope's part of convening on his own authority a fresh council to meet in Italy a step he had never been permitted to effect as the Emperor Sigismund lived The Council of Baal refusing to be thus broken up declared Pope Eugenius deposed but the feeling of Europe was against the creation of another schism and by degrees the Council of Baal dwindled away and came to an end after having sat for eight years and effected practically nothing towards that reformation of the church for which it had been assembled Thus again did the last reforming council for it was the last fail as completely as the two which had preceded it Meanwhile the Emperor John Paläologus and his retinue together with the Patriarch of Constantinople Joseph and a numerous body of bishops and theologians sailed from Constantinople and in due time arrived at Venice The Emperor was received with great pomp by Doge Francesco Foscari and entertained at Venice for a month after which he proceeded to Ferrara where Pope Eugenius having also arrived the council began its sittings 5th January 1438 Cosimo in that task which has been mentioned have gradually bringing foreign nations to recognise in him the motive power of the Florentine state and also gradually convincing his countrymen that their interests were best served by leaving foreign affairs to him had had to exercise much patience He had a matter to effect which necessarily moved but slowly and during the first few years he had been forced to be content with a very partial control and often been obliged to acquiesce in action which he was as yet without the power to direct as he would wish But by the end of the year 1438 he was beginning to have this power foreign affairs being more and more left to him to manage in his own way and he now took his first independent step one which had very important results to Florence He proceeded to Ferrara where the council between the eastern and western churches had been sitting for nearly a year and so used his influence with Pope Eugenius IV that he got the council transferred to Florence whereby he obtained for his city increased political influence brought to it much added trade and secured for it additional advantages in the advancement of the cause of learning Accordingly the council removed in February 1439 from Ferrara to Florence which thus became the centre of interest in this great historical event The Council of Florence 1439 This council is one of the most interesting assemblages of this kind that ever took place a gathering which included an emperor of the east and his retinue a patriarch of Constantinople the principal authorities of the eastern church a pope of Rome the principal authorities of the western church and all the most learned men of both east and west had never before been seen Moreover it was the last occasion on which an assemblage was possible 14 years later the fall of Constantinople swept away all that formed its peculiar interest making it impossible for such a gathering ever to occur again This occasion gave Cosimo a great opportunity both in the political sphere and with regard to the cause of learning nor did he allow the cost of entertaining these distinguished visitors to fall upon the state but made them all his own guests an action which gave him universal commendation Residences were provided for them such as they could not have obtained in any other city The patriarch of Constantinople was lodged in the Farantini Palace in the Borgo Pinti the pope and his suite in the extensive range of buildings at that time attached to Santa Maria Novella while to the emperor and his retinue were given the whole of their Peruzzi palaces then surrounding the Piazza del Peruzzi a group of palaces in which the eastern emperor and his suite were more splendidly lodged than they could have been in the dwelling of any prince in Europe The council began its sittings on the 2nd of March it sat in the cathedral beneath Brunelleschi's glorious dome at that time the wonder of Italy and worthy to be first used on so unique an occasion This gathering gave an immense impetus to what was beginning to be called the new learning It brought to Florence the most learned churchmen of eastern Christendom such as Bessarion, Bishop of Nicaea and also the most learned scholars of the east such as Gemistus Plathon whom Cosimo induced to settle permanently at Florence It brought many rare manuscripts most of which found their way into Cosimo's library and above all it created personal contact and friendliness destined to have large results when a few years later this Greek learning should find itself driven from its home in Constantinople The effect of all this was to advance Florence still further on that path of unearthing the long buried literature of the past on which Cosimo's efforts had already been long engaged and this new learning among many results which it was to have in the future was to have one result of which men little dreamed and least of all those most occupied in fostering the cause of learning for it was destined in time to produce that great convulsion extending over all Europe which we know as the Reformation The new learning operated in two different ways to produce this result first in its work of increasing a knowledge of the ancient literature it opened up large tracts of history till then scarcely known it made scholars acquainted with writings belonging to the centuries preceding the dark period before the time of Charlemagne writings hitherto accessible if at all only to ecclesiastics and able to be read only by few even of the latter a large number of these writings referred to church matters and had been written by eminent bishops of that period and these soon disclosed to scholars that during at least six centuries of the church's earliest life its constitution had been very different from what they now saw it and with no supremacy of one sea over all others while such writings also made them acquainted with the proceedings of the six great general councils of the church which had taken place in those centuries some of which councils had given decisions bearing on this very point and to this new knowledge of the history of the church the gathering in Florence added considerably for it enabled the dignitaries of the eastern church to converse face to face and in their own language with inquirers on such subjects belonging to the west and since the eastern church prided itself on never deviating by one hair's breadth from what was held at the beginning and since the special point upon which the discussions of the council were taking place was this very one of the claim of the church of Rome to a supremacy which the eastern church maintained did not exist at the beginning the eastern bishops and theologians gathered at Florence would be certain to corroborate any discoveries on the above point which the new learning might reveal to the eager scholars of Florence and what scholars learned in one generation or mankind would through them learn in the next Pope Eugenius therefore in bringing the bishops and theologians of the eastern church into contact with the hotbed of learning and growing up in Florence had done the most fatal thing he could do to the cause of the papacy moreover the time was soon to come when one of these scholars of the Renaissance pouring in some dim library over the documents of the 8th century would make the amazing discovery that the so-called Donation of Constantine and the celebrated Decretals now known as the Forge Decretals upon which the whole claim of the sea of Rome to a supremacy had been based were nothing less than a series of immense forgeries as the general result of all this the new learning which now received so strong an impetus was bound as soon as it should spread to Germany and England and as soon as the invention of printing should come to aid it in doing so to produce the Reformation the process would take time but the effect was certain where the councils of Pisa, Constance and Barl had failed the new learning would assuredly not fail it was a train of gunpowder laid in an ever-widening circle from Florence as a centre though the man was not yet born whose hand would 80 years later far away in Germany eventually set fire to the train the second way in which the new learning tended to the same result was of a different kind it gave a strong impulse towards the study of Plato and other non-Christian thinkers of the classical age and a tendency to look at all religions from their standpoint and here also this gathering in Florence had much effect we are told that Cosimo always a great admirer of Plato's philosophy formed the idea of his celebrated Platonic Academy from conversing with the Greek scholar Plethon the most learned of the Greeks who came to the council this famous Academy tended to create a skeptical spirit and though many of its members made endeavours to reconcile Platonism and Christianity yet its general tendency was against the existing order of things in religion its influence became later on very widespread and Simmons says that it would be impossible to estimate the influence upon European thought which this Platonic Academy came to exercise about the time of the Reformation in Italy through Marcilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola and in Germany through Roichlin and his pupil Melanchthon this great gathering of 1439 in Florence had its effect also on art we are often inclined to wonder where such painters as Fra Angelico, Benozzo, Cotzoli and Gentil de Fabriano got the idea of the gorgeous robes and strange looking headdresses which we see in their pictures of eastern subjects it was all taken direct from the life of Florence of this year during that summer the inhabitants of Florence saw a perpetual succession of grand processions and imposing functions in which these visitors from the east appeared in every kind of magnificent and strange costume Vespaciano, Der Bistici and other writers of the time dilate upon their rich silken robes heavy with gold and their fantastic looking headdresses regarded with deep interest by the learned on account of their ancient character and the painters reproduced these before us in pictorial records which are valuable to us on that very account and because this was the last occasion on which these costumes were destined to appear as regards the objects with which the council of Florence was assembled no results followed the venerable patriarch of Constantinople, Joseph died in Florence one month before the council came to an end after his death an agreement between the Greek and Latin churches was made by the council and published with much ostentation by the Pope but the basis of it was that submission of the eastern church to the church of Rome which had been a name of the papacy ever since the 10th century and the failure of any agreement from that standpoint was a foregone conclusion the emperor on the termination of the council returned at once to Constantinople and as soon as the terms of the agreement he had made became known it was violently repudiated by the entire population and a tumult so great arose that the agreement made at Florence was forthwith dropped and never heard of again thus the emperor, John Paleologus the third in succession to strive to get help from the west to save Constantinople was no more successful than his father and grandfather had been it was evidently vain I hope that the nations of Europe could be induced to lay aside their mutual dissensions even to protect themselves from a danger which threatened them all and the days of the great capital of the eastern half of the Roman empire which had blocked the path of Muhammed and conquest for 800 years were now plainly numbered End of section 7 Section 8 of the Medici volume 1 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Adrian Stevens the Medici volume 1 by G. F. Young Chapter 4 Cosimo Partipatrii Part 3 Cosimo 1440 to 1452 in 1440 shortly after the above concourse had dispersed and Florence had returned to her normal conditions the palace in the Via Lager which Cosimo had begun to build in 1430 was sufficiently completed for occupation and he moved into it the members of the family who were thus the first to take up their abode in this palace to which so much of the after history of the Medici attaches were Cosimo and his wife Contessina and their two sons Piero and Giovanni then respectively 24 and 19 years old a few years later both the latter were to marry and bring their wives also to live in the family palace which before Cosimo's death echoed to the childish voices of yet a third generation Cosimo's brother Lorenzo died just as this change of residence of the elder branch took place in the same year the long and desultory war with Milan was brought to a conclusion the Milanese army under Piccinino after threatening Florence retired into the Cassentino where being followed by the Florentine army it was defeated at the Battle of Anghiari by which success Florence gained the fertile district of the Cassentino and Venice her ally gained Pescheria and Bergamo in the following year 1441 there occurred an incident out of which has originated an accusation against Cosimo of the gravest kind to the effect that he instigated the murder of Baldaccio d'Anghiari commander of the Florentine infantry the crime was an atrocious one but there is not a particle of evidence that Cosimo had anything to do with it during the war with Milan in 1440 a Florentine named Orlandini was in command of the troops which had been stationed to hold the important pass of Maradi on the Fayenza road a strong position covering Florence on the north and between which and Florence there were no other troops the Milanese army and a Piccinino having failed in their attack on the pass of San Benedetto then attempted to force that of Maradi where they should have been still more easily repulsed but on the approach of the enemy Orlandini had ignominiously fled ordering his troops to do the same thereby leaving the road to Florence open to the enemy who advanced and occupied the heights of Fiasol placing Florence for a short time in grave danger and Baldaccio d'Anghiari being a brave soldier had boldly denounced Orlandini's cowardice which had had such serious results in 1441 Orlandini became gonfalonier and while holding that office sent for Baldaccio under the garb of friendship to come and discuss some military affairs at the Palazzo della Signoria the latter accordingly went to the palace was received by the gonfalonier with every sign of friendship and conducted by him to his own room where on a sudden hired assassins placed in concealment by Orlandini rushed upon Baldaccio and killed him throwing his body into the cotile below his head was cut off and his mangled remains exposed to the public the Piazza della Signoria where it was proclaimed that he had been put to death by the Signoria as a traitor to the republic the accusation against Cosimo is that Baldaccio on his way to the palace happened to meet him and asked his advice about going and that Cosimo treacherously advised him to go it being declared that Cosimo desired Baldaccio's death because he feared the growing influence of Nari Capone and his close friend Baldaccio was the motive alleged is exceedingly lame while the whole story of Baldaccio's having met Cosimo at all or received any advice from him is apparently due solely to political animosity it is only mentioned by one historian of the time Cavalcanti whose hatred of Cosimo is well known and as the story is not mentioned by any other writer it comes from a source so unreliable in this particular case it is now rejected by all historians as unworthy of credence Gino Capone in similarly rejecting it says that Cavalcanti always writes in hatred of Cosimo while wishing to appear not to do so some writers have urged that even if Cosimo did not instigate the crime he must be held no less responsible since he took no action against those guilty of it but this ignores the fact that the latter were not private individuals but the government of the country that at the date when this occurred, 1441 Cosimo had by no means yet gained the degree of power he afterwards attained and that any action by him against the signoria under the circumstances would have been at any rate highly unconstitutional would practically have been to head a rebellion against the constituted authority of the state lastly, the crime is so opposed to the whole tenet of his life that we are justified in rejecting absolutely the idea that he had any part in it especially as the charge is entirely unsupported by any evidence nor, except for the desire to find material for a damning charge against Cosimo does the crime appear to differ from many others coming at that time the facts of the case are amply sufficient to account for Olandini's deed while he probably had reason to know that the members of this ignoria were not men likely to refuse to support his action before the people backed as that action was by the evidence of traitorous conduct which he asserted that he possessed against Baldaccio D'Anghiari in the same year, 1441 Cosimo arranged the purchase by Florence from the Pope of the town of Borgos San Sepolcro for a sum of 25,000 Florence while we are told Cosimo increased the obligation of the state to him in the matter in that he himself advanced the purchase money in 1443 Pope Eugenius IV was at last able to return to Rome Rome was at this time a ruined city devastated by the long conflicts between the Orsini, the Colonna and other great barons and destitute of all culture or civilizing influences and the contrast was all the more severe to the Pope since Florence, where he had been living for eight years was in advance of all other cities in Europe the Medici Library in 1444 Cosimo founded the celebrated Medici Library the first public library to exist in Europe and from the example of which the Vatican Library at Rome was 30 years afterwards formed this library housed at first in their own palace was steadily added to by the Medici family in succeeding generations and by them in 1524 the building in which it is now located in the cloisters of San Lorenzo was constructed designed by Michelangelo it contains about 10,000 manuscript books of Greek and Latin classical authors many of them of the rarest value among these it possesses the original copy of the pandex of Justinian AD 533 the discovery of which in the 12th century caused so great an influence on the civilization of Europe and on which our study of the Roman law almost entirely hinges also the best manuscript of Cicero's letters two manuscripts of Tacitus one of them being the sole existing copy containing the first five books of the Annals a very ancient copy of the tragedies of Sophocles most important manuscript of Aeschylus a Greek treatise on surgery the commentaries of Julius Caesar a Virgil of the 4th century a Syriac Gospel of AD 556 the Bible copied from 690 to 716 by Colofrid Abbot of Weymouth and called the Codex amiartinus a pliny of the 10th century and numerous literary treasures connected with the time of Dante and Petrarch and the Florence of the 13th and 14th centuries the whole representing a vast sum of money spent by the Medici on this splendid contribution towards the advancement of learning it is the parent of all the great libraries of Europe and as such deserves to be duly honoured in connection with this library it is curious to note how little printing when six years after this it appeared was at first welcomed those who owned these rare and costly manuscripts of the past and their beautiful calligraphy looked with no favour on crude and ugly reproductions thereof by mechanical process it is recorded by Gregorovius that Frederigo Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino a prince who was at this time beginning to follow Cosimo's example in regard to the encouragement of learning and art would not have a printed book in his library in 1446 a general war broke out in Italy as usual Filippo Visconti, Duke of Milan was its leading spirit and he had as his allies the Pope and the King of Naples against this powerful coalition were ranged Venice, Florence, Genoa and Bologna the latter were entirely successful especially when Cosimo at length managed to separate Naples from the coalition and this brought about peace in the same year Brunelleschi died grand funeral obsequies were held in the Duomo where his body lay surrounded by candles beneath the mighty vault that he had constructed and was visited by the whole city he was buried in the Duomo his monument being placed opposite that of Arnolfo Decambio he who began and he who finished thus lying opposite each other in the building which is their joint creation in 1447 Filippo Visconti, Duke of Milan the last of the Visconti family and the perpetual enemy of Florence died whereupon two years of revolutions in Milan followed Cosimo now executed his greatest stroke of foreign policy the perpetual state of war with Milan wasted the revenues of Florence and prevented her development Cosimo therefore determined to entirely change Florence's traditional foreign policy and instead of Venice for ally and for enemy to reverse the position he was opposed by many in his own state who had less political foresight but he carried his point Francesco Sforza, the successful soldier whoever since his visit to Florence in 1435 had maintained a strong friendship with Cosimo had since married Bianca Visconti the late Duke's only child to him Cosimo now gave both political assistance and liberal supplies of money and as the result of this aid Sforza, early as 1450 gained possession of Milan and became its Duke and Cosimo's fast friend Venice, of course, was greatly incensed but Florence had no reason to fear Venice which was neither so valuable as an ally nor so formidable as a foe as Milan it proved the most successful stroke of policy bringing to Florence peace instead of constant wars and making Cosimo acknowledged as the most powerful force in the politics of Italy contemporary historical events 1440 to 1452 as regards France and England at this time the Hundred Years War was still proceeding devastating all northern France but with the general result that the English were steadily losing their hold of that country in 1440 Frederick III became emperor he was destined to hold the imperial title without dignity or influence for over 50 years 1440 to 1493 in 1447 Pope Eugenius IV died as his successor there was elected a man of far greater energy and ability the eager little scholar Tomasso Parantucelli who was a great friend of Cosimo and had acted as librarian to the Medici Library when it was being formed and he, on becoming Pope, having taken part in all the life of art and learning at work in Florence was burning to inaugurate a similar state of things in Rome he took the name of Nicholas V and, we are told, he determined to make Rome at this time so desolate and ruined the metropolis of the world he took active measures at once both in the domain of art and in that of learning in 1450 there was invented at Mayance the art of printing fraught with greater consequences to mankind the many other events of this time which then seemed of far greater importance than this at first obscure invention in 1452 the Emperor Frederick III visited Italy and on his way to Rome passed through Florence where he stayed with Cosimo in the Medici Palace in the same year war again broke out in Italy caused by Alfonso King of Naples who, on the death of Filippo Visconti had taken his place as the disturbing factor in Italy and who now invaded Florence's territory in the war that followed Naples and Venice were ranged against Florence and her new ally Milan this was the balance of power which Cosimo had with much labour striven to create it was shown to be thoroughly satisfactory Venice and Naples being able to effect nothing against Florence and Milan and after a time discovering this they became ready to agree to the peace which through the Pope was proposed and concluded Pope Nicholas V took no part in the war urging all states to abandon their feuds and combine against the Turks to prevent the fall of Constantinople then closely besieged but none heeded him Cosimo, 1453 for nearly twenty years Cosimo's administration of foreign policy had given him unremitting labour but these efforts of many years have been crowned with success notwithstanding many difficulties he had by degrees brought all foreign countries to realise that he was the motive power in the Florentine state and he was also through attaining unvarying success gradually convinced his own countrymen that no one else could manage their affairs so well so that they had no desire to see them in other hands it had required much patient tact to convert his countrymen from their traditional policy of having Venice for friend and Milan for foe to bring them to see that the contrary policy was the sounder one to counteract the ill favour against him which in consequence of his action Venice endeavoured to stir up in his own city and to do all this without losing his position in the process but the successful issue of the war of 1452 convinced all that his view was correct and left none any longer anxious to dispute his administration for their affairs and so long as he continued in the same course and at the same time shunned as he was want all ostentation of power he might do almost what he would but Cosimo's political labours did not end even when he had achieved this result he had to exercise a never ceasing attention in order so to conduct the foreign policy of Florence amidst the intrigues of the time as to maintain a balance of power among the various Italian states small as well as large and thus secure peace in Italy and preserve Florence from the wasting effect of petty wars the manifold anxieties of such a position were enough to break down any man and even upon Cosimo they told severely it was no wonder that he often sought a few hours retreat from such anxieties in the quiet monastery of San Marco nor that by the time he was 64 his health had already begun to give way contemporary historical events 1453 in 1453 the hundred years war between France and England came to an end between the years 1431 and 1453 the English had gradually lost all that they had conquered in France and when at length in the latter year the aged Talbot was killed at the siege of Castillon this war which had lasted 116 years ended it left the condition of France utterly wretched from the Loire to the Somme all lay desert given up to the wolves and traversed only by the robber and the freelance but a greater event than the conclusion of this long war and one whose effects still continue occurred in the year 1453 this was the fall of Constantinople bringing to an end the eastern empire of Rome on the 29th of May 1453 it was an event which struck all Europe with horror for Constantinople was not merely the storehouse of the ancient learning and culture of the Roman Empire it was also the one great capital city in Europe which had always from its very birth been Christian a city whose foundation had signalized the adoption by the civilized world of that religion and which had come to be called in the East the Christian city that such a city should be captured by the Turk and be henceforth the headquarters of the Mohammedan religion and of Turkish misrule and tyranny over the Christian populations of the eastern countries was hateful in the eyes of Europe and it happened solely because the western nations were too much occupied with mutual dissensions to combine to prevent it as three successive emperors of the East in 1361 in 1401 and in 1439 had come in person to implore them to do the emperor John Paleologus had died in 1448 and had been succeeded by his son the brave young Constantine Paleologus the last of the long line of emperors who during 1130 years sat on the throne of Constantine the Great it was a strange coincidence that the last emperor of Constantinople should have borne the same name as the first of Constantine Paleologus we had told he was in no way inferior to any whoever sat upon that throne in this final contest he at any rate did his part nobly thereby throwing into deeper contrast the behaviour of the western nations deserted by Europe with the armies of the Turks all round him with none but himself to depend upon with far too small a garrison to defend 13 miles of walls and a vast crowd of women and children and other non-competence the defenceless population of a great city all looked to him to defend them from the atrocities of the terrible Turks with every sort of difficulty to be coped with inside the city whose inhabitants saw themselves abandoned by Christendom Constantine solely by his own ability and strength of character conducted for a year and a half a splendid defence and in such sort that instead of the noble scenes witness when Rome fell before Alaric the manner of the final fall of Constantinople has been felt to be one of the most glorious episodes in all her long history the immediate consequences of the fall of Constantinople were four intoxicated by their victory the Turks wild to press on and subdue the whole of Europe where Mohammed II now planned to set up at Rome the capital of a worldwide empire advanced into Hungary but there the brave John Hunyades barred their way like another Charles Martel and they got no further to the Pope Nicholas V who alone had laboured to prevent it the fall of Constantinople was the cause of the deepest grief he tried to rouse France, England, Germany and Venice to retake Constantinople and turn the Turks out of Europe but what with the incapacity of the Emperor Frederick III and the general disunion between the different countries he could affect nothing after two years he died in 1455 it was said of grief and horror at the capture of the Christian city by the Infadel but at his failure to rouse the western nations to retake it to Venice the fall of her rival was her doom she began to decay from that hour losing territory after territory to the Turks and her commerce at the same time it was a just retribution for it was the crime of her treacherous attack upon and capture of Constantinople in 1204 committed under the name of a crusade and solely to satisfy her insatiable greed of wealth which so weakened the eastern empire that the decline in power wrought thereby ended after 250 years of constant defeat in the final fall of Constantinople and brought the Turks into Europe and it was fitting that on Venice should fall the chief punishment her wealth rapidly departed others, Portugal especially gained the commerce which she lost and by the end of the century the decay of the once mighty republic was fully established to Florence the fall of Constantinople was again it scattered westwards all that accumulation of the ancient learning which Constantinople had so long preserved most of which naturally gravitated to the city where many of the leading men of Constantinople had been hospitably entertained only fourteen years before and where they knew they would find friends and this helped forward still further that preeminence in learning and art was Florence's greatest glory as to what happened to Constantinople itself that is best told in a single sentence by a traveller of our own day who writes I have never in all my travels grieved so much as at the sight of the once beautiful city defiled, squalid and misgoverned Cosimo 1453 to 1463 we have now to look at Cosimo from a financial point of view at his general as well as his charitable expenditure and the financial arrangements made between the two branches of the family Cosimo, besides his work in the world of politics had to administer a great banking business in this sphere he has by all writers been given the reputation of a financier of the first rank notwithstanding his immense expenditure which included private subsidies towards state expenses the entertainment of distinguished visitors to Florence large sums given to advance the cause of learning and art and the equivalent of a million sterling given to charitable objects he more than doubled the fortune inherited from his father and left his son and successor Piero the wealthiest man at that time in Europe another feature of his financial work is the way in which he made his operations as a banker assist those connected with his position as head of the state he frequently made his immense banking transactions a weapon with which to force other countries to the course required for the welfare of Florence thus by his financial assistance the Venetian Republic were enabled to withstand the united attacks of the French and of Filippo Visconti, Duke of Milan but on being deprived by Cosimo of this support were unable to do so again in the war of 1452 in which Venetian Naples were allied against Florence one of the chief means by which Cosimo obtained his success was by calling in such immense debts from those countries that they were deprived of resources for continuing the war again during the War of the Roses Edward IV obtained such enormous sums from Cosimo's agent in England that he might almost be considered as the means of maintaining that king upon the English throne as regards charities the Libro di Ragione shows that Cosimo's private expenditure on churches, monasteries and charitable institutions exceeded 400,000 gold Florence and this at a time when the whole income of the Florentine state did not reach more than half that sum about the year 1453 as Cosimo was growing old and his brother Lorenzo was already dead a computation was made of the family income and a resolution come to between the two branches as to the manner in which the profits of their banking business should be divided between them the share of these profits which thus fell to each branch of the family was equal to about half a million sterling an enormous fortune in those times Cosimo, built for his family besides the Medici palace in the city itself various villas outside Florence the chief of these were Carreggio about two miles to the northwest of the city Caffaggiolla in the valley of Mugello and the Villa Medici on the slope of Fiazoll built by him for his son Giovanni Carreggio was Cosimo's favourite residence and there he was fond of gathering round him the learned society which he loved End of section 8